'I have two daughters', says Babul Supriyo after 'sexist' tweet on Mamata Banerjee

As the war of words between the Bhartiya Janata Party and Trinamool Congress intensifies ahead of the Assembly elections, Union Minister Babul Supriyo, on Monday, drew flak for his tweet against Mamata Banerjee.

Supriyo had mocked TMC’s poll slogan by sharing a meme featuring Amit Shah’s photo with a quote saying “beti paraya dhan hoti hai, iss baar vida kar denge” (a daughter is someone else’s wealth, will send her off this time). The tweet also had Mamata’s photo with a quote saying “Mai Bengal ki beti hu” (I am the daughter of Bengal).

Responding to this tweet, the Trinamool Congress leader expressed her shock and rebuked BJP for sharing ‘sexist’ remarks. She tweeted, “I am extremely worried about the state of women's affairs in this country if public representatives like you endorse such chauvinist views. STUNNED and SHOCKED to see how deep and wide sexism runs in @BJP4India leaders!”

However, after the tweet triggered a controversy, Supriyo took it down and said that he 'didn’t have to learn the definition of misogyny from any political party’. He posted his statement on Facebook saying, “This meme is neither made by me nor the statement is made by me. I have two daughters so I don't have to learn the definition of misogyny from any other 'political' party (be it TMC or Left-Congress).”

TMC last week had unveiled a poll slogan "Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chaye" (Bengal wants its own daughter), portraying Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee mascot with a focus on women voters and Bengali sub-nationalism.

Bengal’s ruling party has been engaged in a bitter political fight with the BJP, pitching the opposition party's leaders as outsiders who are on "election tourism" to the state.